


Enough to Make a Puddle Slime Blush

by DrinkThePoisonedChalice (RequiemForTheWolves)



Category: Slime Rancher (Video Game), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 11:34:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19333711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RequiemForTheWolves/pseuds/DrinkThePoisonedChalice
Summary: The life of a slime rancher is a life of isolation, or at least it was until Jimin accidentally crash landed his spaceship in Jeongguk's sector.





	Enough to Make a Puddle Slime Blush

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wearenot_MONSTER](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=wearenot_MONSTER).



> This fic happened because one day I jokingly suggested a Slime Rancher/Jikook crossover and Sam was the only one who responded with an enthusiastic "YES." This fic is for you Sam, happy 21st birthday fam.
> 
> I wasn't sure with this fic how much I should info dump stuff from the game, but then I figured if you looked at the tag "Slime Rancher" and still decided to read this fic you know exactly what you're getting yourself into.

Jimin knew he was done for the moment his foot buried itself beneath a tree root, sending him tumbling to the ground. The monster chasing him was as beautiful as it was terrifying, it's body rippling with rainbow shimmers as it leaked black sludge, leaving a trail in its wake. It could also jump to incredible heights. Jimin managed to flip over just in time to see his predator high in the air above him, it's gaping maw ready to descend. Jimin stopped breathing. 

Just as the creature had crested the height of its jump a stream of water slammed into it, dissipating the large slime into nothing. Jimin’s head whipped around, finding his savior in the figure of a man who looked to be holding a very big gun. 

Except that it wasn't a gun, it was a vac-pac. Something which Jimin should know, as he had two smaller versions of the mechanism currently on the ground beside him. 

The stranger peered over at him, standing at Jimin’s head so that he looked upside down. "Huh," he said, "I wasn't expecting any visitors." 

Jimin chuckled in a way that was probably hysterical. "Yea, I can imagine not."

The stranger offered him a hand, which Jimin accepted. Upon standing he found the other man was taller than him by almost a head, and broader as well. Whereas Jimin had two handheld guns connected to his vac-pac which he quickly gathered off the ground and placed in their holsters on his thighs, the stranger's required two hands to keep steady and had to be held at his side. He had brown hair that was nearly in his eyes and a cute bunny smile which he offered to Jimin. "Couldn't find any fresh water?"

Jimin huffed. "I ran out. There were a lot more of them before you got here."

The stranger chuckled. "I'm sure there were. My name's Jeongguk."

"Jimin," he said, and took the hand that Jeongguk offered. 

"Well Jimin, what are you doing on an already inhabited sector? Unless they've already run out of places to put new ranchers?"

Jimin sighed and watched as a phosphor slime puttered along the forest floor by their feet, tiny fairy wings flapping as it emitted a soft glow. "No, nothing like that. I was supposed to wake up a few months from now on planet Theta, but I woke up to my ship stuck in a tree instead. The most I could figure out was that there was some sort of guidance malfunction."

Jeongguk let out a low whistle. "Months? I'd say years."

" _ Years?  _ How far off course did I travel?"

Jeongguk gave him a pitying smile. "Welcome to planet Epsilon." 

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

The sun was beginning to rise by the time they made it to Jeongguk's ranch. Leaving the forest meant crossing a long rickety bridge that spanned over a turquoise sea.

“Be careful not to fall in,” Jeongguk warned him as Jimin peered over the edge with no railings. “The slime can swim in it, but people sure can’t. Not even your jet pack can save you.” Jimin shifted closer to Jeongguk and the other man smiled. “Not really something they can prepare you for in training.”

“No, not really,” Jimin agreed. “I know the rearing habits of four different types of chickens, but some things just have to be experienced I guess.”

“Like getting your spaceship stuck in a tree,” Jeongguk offered as they finally reached solid land. “but hopefully the sea is something you’ll never have to experience.”

Jeongguk’s ranch was located on the dry reef, which meant bright orange dust and rock formations towering above their heads. It also meant an abundance of pink slimes, who made small shocked noises when they saw Jimin for the first time, but were unafraid to run up to Jeongguk and beg food. He shot a few carrots out of his vac-pac into the distance and the slimes scurried after them and out of their way. Jimin watched as the quickest slimes swallowed the carrots whole, and soon discharged a small bubble that popped when it hit the ground, revealing a glowing pink gem. 

“You’re not going to go get those?” Jimin asked, pointing to the fresh plorts just lying in the dust.

“What? No way,” Jeongguk said. “Pink plorts are worth, what, nine bucks on a good day? They’re not really worth the effort at this point.”

Jimin shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

“Anyway,” Jeongguk continued, “I’ve got a communications system set up at my place, but as far as interplanetary communication goes it’s basically just email. It’ll take a few days for the message to reach home base, but I’m sure you’d like to give them a piece of your mind at this point. Until they can get you back on your way to planet Theta you’re welcome to stay here with me.”

Jimin stopped just outside the wooden archway that marked the entrance to Jeongguk’s ranch, and upon seeing him the other man stopped as well. “Thank you,” Jimin said, “that’s very kind of you.”

Jeongguk gave him the same bunny smile from before. “Of course. I mean, this is probably the first and only time I’ll ever have guests out here. Plus, with your help on the ranch I can get way more exploring done.”

Jimin snorted a laugh as Jeongguk continued his walk into the  ranch, following close behind. The ranch was set up in much the way Jimin expected any to be set up, in that small square plots had been designated for holding produce or slimes. To the right of the entrance Jeongguk was growing fruit trees, while to the left Jimin found four different slime corrals set up, clear forcefields humming with high walls. “So you’re gonna put me to work while I’m here?”

“Of course,” Jeongguk said. “You came here to be a rancher, didn’t you? Consider this your free trial.” The two of them stopped outside the door to Jeongguk’s house, which was mostly just a blue and white dome. “Well, I’m gonna get a few hours of shut eye, but I’ll boot up the communications system for you before I go to sleep. I’ve got extra blankets and pillows if you want to-”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Jimin interrupted, and Jeongguk laughed. 

“Yea, I remember when I first woke up too. I don’t think I slept for two days afterward.”

“I’ve never felt more rested in my life.”

“Feel free to explore the ranch then,” Jeongguk continued. “Just be careful in the cave.”

“What’s in the cave?” Jimin asked slowly.

Jeongguk scratched at the back of his neck. “It’s, uh, it’s where I put all the dangerous stuff.”

The “dangerous stuff” ended up being slimes that could potentially impale Jimin, blow him up, or give him radiation poisoning. These were the only corrals that Jeongguk had automatic plort collectors installed in, which Jimin thought was a great business decision on his part. The phosphor slimes were the only non-dangerous part of the cave, and illuminated the entrance with their soft glow, if only because when exposed to sunlight they would pop out of existence.

On the main part of Jeongguk’s ranch he had his more harmless slimes: honey, rock, and tabby. It was also where he grew his fruits and vegetables. Jimin spent most of his time in this area staring at a corral with only two chickens in it and wondering what the hell Jeongguk could be using it for until a pair of cat eyes and sharp fangs popped into existence right in front of his face. Jimin yelped and quickly backed away, meanwhile the hunter slime looking far too proud of itself bounced over to one of the chickens and swallowed it whole.

Past the fruit trees was a short path that lead to an area full of tall grass and overrun with chickens. Coops were set up for the more exotic types, while regular white chickens roamed about freely. There was also a tall silo set up in one of the plots where excess produce had been put away.

Jimin stole a few cuberries out of storage, which were just like strawberries except much bigger and, well, cubes, and sat on the steps near Jeongguk’s house to eat and watch the slimes play. The tabby slimes had made a very impressive tower out of themselves, and the rock slimes seemed to enjoy nothing more than barreling into each other.

It was around midday when Jeongguk finally emerged from his house, hair ruffled and yawning but still dressed for a day of work. By this time Jimin had sampled all of the fruits and vegetables Jeongguk’s ranch had to offer, and had decided that heart beets were definitely the worst, but pogofruit lost a lot of points for being so hard to eat since they were basically pomegranates. Jimin offered the other man a cuberry, since they were definitely the best, and Jeongguk sat down to eat with him.

“We need to upgrade your tech,” was the first thing Jeongguk said after a few minutes of silence. “Things have always changed by the time you get where you’re going. I know I played catch up for a long time after I landed. First, though, we have to feed the slimes.”

Jimin stood up, dusted off his pants, and offered Jeongguk his hand. “Then let’s get to work.”

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

Jeongguk was right when he said things would be easier on the ranch with Jimin around, meaning he had plenty of time to show Jimin his world. He didn’t spend much time on the dry reef, though Jimin always got distracted playing with the pink slimes, who he believed to be the most carefree of all the slimes. Jeongguk took him into the moss blanket first, with its lush undergrowth and towering trees, so they could try and salvage what they could from Jimin’s wrecked ship. Jimin loved the calming attitude of the tabby slimes in the moss blanket, and probably would have loved the adorable honey slimes even more if they weren’t so sticky. Jeongguk showed Jimin everywhere that was safe, and pointed out from afar places he deemed too dangerous until Jimin was more experienced as an adventurer. 

Jeongguk showed him the indigo quarry next, though it had to be accessed through a portal from the cave on Jeongguk’s ranch. Of course, this wasn’t the only entrance to the quarry, but Jeongguk insisted that going the long way was far too dangerous.

“You have to go through this cave, okay. And it looks like a normal cave with a little lake inside until you get too close and these giant pink phosphor slimes emerge from the lake. And they’re not the normal cute kind, no way. These guys have glowing red eyes and are surrounded by this red electricity and they’ll bite the hell out of you if they get the chance.”

Jeongguk had then showed Jimin the scar on his shoulder from one such bite, and Jimin was more than happy to have access to the portal.

Exploring with Jeongguk was fun. He had fast reflexes, much quicker than Jimin’s, which made him feel a lot safer than if he had been out on his own. He was funny in a very silly way, would start splash fights with Jimin when they bathed in the fresh water of the indigo quarry and do his best to make the puddle slimes blush. He was a good companion in moments of silence as well though, when they would climb a tree in the moss blanket and let their feet dangle as they watched the sun rise over the sea. Jimin appreciated these moments of stillness the most, when they would take a break from all of the running, climbing, and shooting to just watch the nature move around them. 

It was during one of these moments, when they were sitting on one of the tallest rock formations they could find in the dry reef, that Jeongguk finally asked the Big Question. They had been collectively picking at a pogofruit and watching the pink and rock slimes run around below their feet when Jeongguk asked, “what made you want to become a rancher?”

Jimin didn’t answer right away, and instead continued to pick at the fruit while he thought it over. He could give Jeongguk the generic answer, the one you give to strangers and family you’re not very close to. That he was bored of where he was. That he wanted to see not just the world but the universe. That he wanted adventure. Wanted to get rich. That he didn’t think he could handle being a nine to five pencil pusher.

Those were the easy answers. At this point though Jimin was pretty sure Jeongguk deserved his honesty over his ease. Jeongguk was good to him, had offered him a place to stay when he had nowhere else to go. Not to mention when Jimin had gotten word that it would take two months for him to finally receive a shuttle that would take him to his intended sector Jeongguk had simply shrugged, as if it were no problem at all. Besides, Jeongguk was a rancher with his own story as well. If anyone was going to understand it would probably be him. 

“It wasn’t something I ever considered until my dad died,” he finally said. “Money wasn’t something I ever put that much thought into until that point. I was in school to become a professional dancer, which isn’t something that’s usually known for making much money. It didn’t really bother me until suddenly my mom was talking about having to put both her kids through college, because my brother is only two years younger than me. My little brother wants to be a doctor, a pediatrician, actually, which means he’s going to be in school forever but he’s also going to help people. So, I figured my dreams weren’t quite as important, at least that I could put them on hold for a little while. I left school to take stress off my mom, and came out here so I could save up enough money to finish school on my own.”

Jimin finally looked up to gauge Jeongguk’s reaction. The other man simply nodded and leaned back so that his weight was resting on his hands. “Money is what drives most of us out here, I think. There’s nothing else that makes a man so desperate to the point where he’ll isolate himself the way that we do.”

“Is that why you’re here too?” Jimin asked.

“Pretty much. Same reason, different story. I have a brother too, but he’s older instead of younger. When he was a teenager he spent his time with some not so good people, and he ended up getting himself in trouble. Trouble in the loan shark kind of way. The debts only got worse as he refused to ask for help, until finally the family was forcibly involved. My dad makes enough money to support us, but not enough to do that  _ and _ pay off my brother’s debts. My mom got hurt when I was a kid, and she hasn’t been able to work since. At first they talked about sending my brother out here, make him fix his own problems, but there was no way to know if he would consistently send money back or not. So, I volunteered to go instead. Each month I send as much money back as I can.”

Jimin had to ask, “how old were you when you left home?”

Jeongguk sighed. “Eighteen.”

Jimin didn’t know what to say to that, so he simply placed his hand over one of Jeongguk’s. In response Jeongguk flipped his hand over and gave Jimin’s a gentle squeeze. They went back to watching the slimes in silence for a while until Jimin spoke up. “Hey Jeonggukie?”

“Yea?”

“If those big slimes, you know the ones that are two different kinds combined, make one of each plort for every piece of food they eat, couldn’t we use that to double our profits from our current food production level?”

“Oh my god.”

“What?”

“We’re going to have to reorganize the entire ranch.”

 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

 

A month into Jimin’s stay with Jeongguk, Kim Seokjin began placing portals to his ranch in other people’s sectors. The Kim family were basically slime ranching royalty, as they were one of the first pioneers of the profession and were unquestionably the most profitable at it. Seokjin was the heir to this throne, and spent most of his time studying the elusive quicksilver slime. To help with this he opened up an opportunity to all the other ranchers on the planet. If they wanted to make a quick buck they could run his race track, where the goal was to shoot as many quicksilver slimes with bursts of electricity as possible in order to get them to drop plorts. 

The profit one could make in one run was alright, usually a few hundred dollars. What kept Jimin and Jeongguk going back so frequently though was how damn fun it was. That, and the opportunity to meet other ranchers.

The first one they met was Taehyung, an excitable boy with a ranch much like Jeongguk’s. The two of them soon had some healthy competition going on at the racetrack, though as far as simply running was concerned Jeongguk even rivaled the slimes sometimes.

They also met a man named Namjoon, who invited them to help for a profit over on his estate as well. Jeongguk soon dubbed this “camping on hard mode,” as the wilds of Namjoon’s property were full of feral saber toothed slimes and the portals were always on the fritz.

With all the excitement of new friends and new places Jimin barely felt the time passing by, and before long it had been nearly two months since he had crashed on planet Epsilon. It was around this time that Jimin received word that his shuttle would be delayed for another month due to “unforeseen complications.” Jimin sighed in resignation at the email and left the house to go find Jeongguk.

He was sure Jeongguk wouldn’t mind the delay. At least, it didn’t seem like Jimin was overstaying his welcome. Jimin was glad for it, honestly. Once he left it would be just him and his slimes on a completely new planet. 

Jimin stopped in his tracks. He hadn’t realized before how much the idea of being alone again filled him with dread. It hadn’t bothered him before, but now…

Now it meant no more games at the racetrack. No more hand to catch him when his curiosity pulled him too close to the sea. No more pink slime fights. No more late nights watching the moon smiling back down at them. Just an empty ranch, and an empty bed.

Jimin didn’t want that anymore.

Jimin no longer walked but ran to where he had seen Jeongguk, lounging in the tabby slime corral and tossing a ball of string back and forth. His eyes widened at Jimin’s sudden approach, big bambi eyes staring up at him.

“Jeongguk, I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.”

Jimin swallowed, trying to fix his suddenly dry throat. “You know, now that I’m standing here I’m not really sure how to ask this. Like, how does one from my position ask without coming across as rude? It’s something I need to ask though because it’s really really important to me and if I don’t I-”

“Jimin,” Jeongguk cut off the other man’s rambling. Jimin’s mouth snapped closed and he quickly shifted his weight from foot to foot. Jeongguk was smiling up at him, his eyes soft with joy and hope. “Would you like to stay here with me?”

Jimin let out a sigh of relief. “Yes. Yes, I would love that.”


End file.
